Colors of Costa Rica

Lest you think my entire recent trip to Costa was all rained out, I wanted to add a post on the colors of Costa Rica. I hope that shots of flowers like these are a reminder of why the tropics needs so much rain! I’ve seen these same areas after months and months without rain — I promise you that I will never again take the lush green plants and colorful flowers for granted! The first time I visited Costa Rica, a trip that lasted one year almost to the day, it was bone dry. While I saw spots of green, for the most part, the trees and dirt roads were brown and dry. I didn’t complain — dry weather meant more days in the sun, cleaner roads while walking home, and much easier driving (not that I had a car myself.)

On this visit, I got a lot of rain, even though historically, wet season is over by late November. I got just enough sun that I didn’t mind — and the colorful plants and flowers made the morning showers worth it. Here are my favorite bursts from the garden!

The color pink filled my guesthouse’s garden. Does anyone know the name of this plant?

I just had to include this one surprise bonus beam of color coming from the sea. He doesn’t even look real to me!

See — I did see sun! And it brought out loads of colorful bird of paradise “flowers.” I always catch myself calling them “flowers,” because of their colors, but really they’re perennials. I was just glad they came out after the sun!

If life is about simple pleasures, then part of the magic of the tropics are joys like the the colors of Costa Rica, whether it’s watching the brightest plants and flowers bloom in your driveway practically in minutes, or finding a crab so colorful that you think he can’t be real — until he scurries off into the ocean.

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Comments

That crab is awesome! He looks like he wandered too close to my wife’s preschool class and they got a hold of him with their neon paints. The eyes are a little creepy though.
I’m not much of a plant guy, and living in the Pacific Northwest I’ve had more than my share of rain, but the colors you’ve captured in your pictures are great and makes it seem like a fair trade off. I’m going to try and remember that next time it rains for a month straight here.

Great photos! I love the little crab, he is so cute!! I totally agree with you about finding little pleasures. At night in Sri Lanka in my village there used to be swarms of tiny fireflies lighting up the air, glowing neon yellow in the moonlight. And during sunset on the beach, the sun would get so low that it would look like this giant phosphorescent beach ball hovering over the sea. Those were some of my favourite things

Such pretty pics! The vivid colors were one of my favorite parts of Costa Rica when I went in October. The vibrant plants were just incredible. My friend snapped a photo of a bright blue iguana, though I had just missed it.